The present invention generally relates to taxidermy mannequins, and more particularly to such mannequins to be mounted to a pedestal.
Overly simplified, in the art of taxidermy, a taxidermist will remove the skin and coat from the animal or fish to be mounted, and then stretch that skin and coat over a mannequin sculpted to have the anatomical appearance of the real animal or fish. In addition to the skin and coat, the taxidermist will further attach artificial eyes, noses, hooves, antler or horns to the mannequin to further replicate the animal""s or fish""s true appearance.
In addition to simply having the animal""s or fish""s appearance replicated, most hunters or fisherman also want their xe2x80x9ctrophyxe2x80x9d to take on a preferred pose of the animal or fish. To accomplish this task, taxidermists will quite often mount the mannequin to a pedestal, rather than a traditional, wall plaque mounting due to the improved stability achieved using pedestals. Most often, a plate or bracket(s) are screwed to the lower surface(s) of a mannequin, which are, in turn, fastened to a pedestal in order to effect the mount. While such a connecting method sometimes proves effective, most often the material composition of the mannequin fails to be adequately supported by the screws, ultimately tearing apart or deforming in those areas having screws passed therethrough, thereby resulting in an unbalanced, unstable mount.
One manner of improving such premature degradation of mannequins has been accomplished by forming a bored hole into the base of a mannequin, and utilizing a pedestal having an elongated rod extending essentially, perpendicularly upwardly therefrom. To mount the mannequin to the pedestal simply requires that the mannequin be positioned such that the rod extends into the bore hole. While this mode of connection corrects the problems associated with screws tearing away at the mannequin, the weight of a mannequin causes the rod to bear against, and ultimately degrade the sidewalls and impale terminal end wall of the bored hole. Such stresses result in a mannequin becoming unstable on the pedestal and displaced from its intended position.
Accordingly, it is a present object and advantage of the present invention to provide a taxidermy mannequin that may be securely positioned on a standard pedestal.
It is another object and advantage of the present invention to provide a taxidermy mannequin that may be mounted for pivotal adjustment on a pedestal.
It is a further object and advantage of the present invention to provide a taxidermy mannequin that is more durable than the state of the art.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will in part be obvious, and in part appear hereinafter.
In accordance with the foregoing objects and advantages, the present invention provides a taxidermy mannequin having an elongated, bored hole formed in a bottom portion thereof, and a rigid block molded into the mannequin in supporting relation to the bored hole, thereby providing structural reinforcement and integrity to the bored hole. The bored hole is sized such that the mannequin may be positioned with the bored hole receiving a standard sized rod extending upwardly from a conventional pedestal.
The mannequin is formed by molding light-weight polyurethane foam around the rigid block and into a desired form. Prior to the hardening of the polyurethane, a forming rod is inserted through a hole formed in the mold (which positions the bored hole at the bottom of the mannequin). Upon setting or hardening of the polyurethane, the forming rod is removed from the mannequin, leaving a bored hole in its place. In addition, a rigid disk is positioned at the terminal end of the bored hole in order to provide reinforcement thereto. After the polyurethane is fully set, the mold may be broken away or separated from the mannequin and reused as needed.
A conventional pedestal on which the mannequin is to be mounted includes an elongated rod extending upwardly therefrom. The mannequin is intended to be positioned on the pedestal with the elongated rod securely positioned within the elongated, bored hole. Due to the rigid block surrounding the sidewalls of the bored hole and the rigid disk positioned at the terminal end of the bored hole, the structural integrity of the mounted mannequin is sufficient to prevent the rod from degrading and/or impaling the mannequin, thereby maintaining stability thereof on the pedestal.